Legacy

Google it’s definition and legacy is described thusly: “the long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place in the past, or of a person’s life.” Having recently celebrated my 40th year on planet Earth, legacy is becoming increasingly important to me. This line of thinking has me thinking about who and what I leave behind. Advocating for a reduced workweek and making 4 Day Week SA a success for every citizen of South Africa, is now part of the legacy I strive to create.

Creation, as opposed to destruction is so much more complicated to achieve. Local pioneer pilot participants have only entered the fourth month of the reduced workweek experiment and challenges have already been heaped onto the ones we were initially aware of. It’s still too early to tell what this will mean in terms of the pilot’s success, but we must accept this challenge and take it as a sign that we are on the right track. After all, if those earlier pioneers of the anti-apartheid regime simply gave up, we would never have been here to celebrate this freedom of choice which has now become a legacy left behind for all South Africans who live in this beautiful country.

I am doing this for my country yes, but that may be a little too vague in terms of motivating for context. What fuels me and helps me press on through those days where it feels like I’m battling an unconquerable Goliath, is family. I am more than happy to sacrifice, invest the few years I have left, to making the four-day workweek a reality on these local shores and eventually throughout Africa.

By doing so, I earnestly believe that my daughter, wife and extended family will be able to live in a world where that utopian vision of a democratic South Africa, will be realised.

No matter how old you are, you will eventually have to start thinking about what you leave behind. How you are remembered is not so much a matter of pride or ego, but more about the value added to help homo sapiens progress that much further. The realisation of a government mandated four-day workweek forms a core part of that. A few hours off per week will give you a little more time to think about your legacy, won’t it?

I look forward to reading and responding to your thoughts below.

Originally published: davidjohnwaynebailey.com

Tags

4 Day Week SA, INFJ, dear INFJ, 4 Day Workweek, 4 Day Week, Future Of Work, Not Just A Day Off, Entrepreneurship, Lead With Empathy, Human Energy, South Africa’s Digital Revolution, Work Time Reduction, Wellbeing In The Workplace, Proudly South African

David-John Wayne Bailey is an INFJ from Cape Town, a proud pioneer pilot participant of 4 Day Week SA and an advocate of a four-day week for everyone working in South Africa.